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IBM SPSS Statistics vs Starburst Galaxy comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM SPSS Statistics
Ranking in Data Science Platforms
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Data Mining (2nd)
Starburst Galaxy
Ranking in Data Science Platforms
13th
Average Rating
9.8
Reviews Sentiment
1.0
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
Streaming Analytics (17th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Data Science Platforms category, the mindshare of IBM SPSS Statistics is 2.8%, down from 2.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Starburst Galaxy is 0.8%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Science Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

Laurence Moseley - PeerSpot reviewer
Delivers reliable results for academic research and keeps you close to your data.
SPSS is perfectly adequate if all you want are some results. If you only need the results, you do not require the trail of evidence on how you obtained those results. I mainly used it for cross tabs, correlation, regression, chi-squared tests, and similar analyses often seen in published papers; I used it for my papers as well. For wider uses I find Knime keeps me in touch with my data, however much I transform them.
Stephen-Howard - PeerSpot reviewer
Federated querying delivers integrated data at record speed and reduces processing time
The biggest win has been the ability to combine data from multiple sources and deliver it to the business at record speed. This capability has allowed us to query directly through Starburst Galaxy, enabling teams to access integrated data that would otherwise be hard to pull together. This has reduced both our ETL processing time and storage costs. We are answering questions that would have been hard, if not impossible, to answer previously because the data came from disparate, disconnected sources.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The software offers consistency across multiple research projects helping us with predictive analytics capabilities."
"The solution is very comprehensive, especially compared to Minitabs, which is considered more for manufacturing. However, whatever data you want to analyze can be handled with SPSS."
"One feature I found very valuable was the analysis of variance (ANOVA)."
"In terms of the features I've found most valuable, I'd say the duration, the correlation, and of course the nonparametric statistics. I use it for reliability and survival analysis, time series, regression models in different solutions, and different types of solutions."
"The best part is that they have an algorithm handbook, so you can open it up and understand how it works, and if it is useful, this is very important."
"It has the ability to easily change any variable in our research."
"They have many existing algorithms that we can use and use effectively to analyze and understand how to put our data to work to improve what we do."
"The most valuable feature is its robust statistical analysis capabilities."
"Starburst Galaxy serves as our primary SQL-based data processing engine, a strategic decision driven by its seamless integration with our AWS cloud infrastructure and its ability to deliver high performance with low-latency responses."
"Starburst Galaxy is becoming a cornerstone of our data platform, empowering us to make smarter and faster decisions across the organization."
"Starburst Galaxy has improved our organization by unifying access to all major data sources, reducing the need for complex ETL processes."
"Starburst Galaxy has improved our organization by unifying access to all major data sources, reducing the need for complex ETL processes."
"Starburst on Trino, combined with our SQL-native data transformation tool SQLMesh, has delivered anywhere from a two to five times improvement in compute performance across our transformation DAG."
 

Cons

"Needs more statistical modelling functions."
"If there is any self-generation data collection plan (DCP), it would be helpful in gathering data. It would also be useful if there is a function to scale it up to, let's say, UiPath and have it consolidate and integrate into a UiPath solution."
"I'm unsure if SPSS has a commercial offering for big servers, unlike KNIME, which does."
"SPSS slows down the computer or the laptop if the data is huge; then you need a faster computer."
"I recently moved away from SPSS and started using KNIME since it is particularly easier for students."
"Each algorithm could be more adaptable to some industry-specific areas, or, in some cases, adapted for maintenance."
"I think the visualization and charting should be changed and made easier and more effective."
"SPSS is a tool that's been around since the late 60s, and it's the universal worldwide standard for quantitative social science data analysis. That said, it does seem a bit strange to me that the graphical output functions are so clunky after all these years. The output of charts and graphs that SPSS produces is hideous."
"Cluster startup time is another pain point, typically 3 to 5 minutes, which is not the worst with proper planning but can be annoying for ad-hoc work."
"Cluster startup time can be slow, sometimes taking over a minute."
"The most persistent issue is the cluster spin-up time."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If it requires lot of data processing, maybe switching to IBM SPSS Clementine would be better for the buyer."
"The price of IBM SPSS Statistics could improve."
"It's quite expensive, but they do a special deal for universities."
"The price of this solution is a little bit high, which was a problem for my company."
"More affordable training for new staff members."
"We think that IBM SPSS is expensive for this function."
"I rate the tool's pricing a five out of ten."
"Our licence is on a yearly renewal basis. While pricing is not the primary concern in our evaluation, as products are assessed by whether they can meet our user needs and expertise, the cost can be a limiting factor in the number of licences we procure."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
7%
Financial Services Firm
32%
Computer Software Company
15%
University
7%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM SPSS Statistics?
The software offers consistency across multiple research projects helping us with predictive analytics capabilities.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM SPSS Statistics?
I think the price of the solution is very reasonable. The cost depends; you have the option for subscription or you can purchase the license. Most of our customers are paying every year for a type ...
What needs improvement with IBM SPSS Statistics?
I have faced some challenges with IBM SPSS Statistics; you need to know what you're doing because it's not very user-friendly. It's not something a person can come and intuitively work with. The ba...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Starburst Galaxy?
You pay for cluster uptime. It is important to be aggressive about autoscaling, as a single worker will get you a long way. I recommend never connecting a BI tool to your Galaxy cluster. Instead, w...
What needs improvement with Starburst Galaxy?
As a hosted option, I wish I had more control over the cluster configuration, specifically regarding some of the more advanced options. Trino is extremely flexible and powerful, but some of this fu...
What is your primary use case for Starburst Galaxy?
I use Starburst as a cost-efficient hosted option for Trino for data integration and ad-hoc analysis across a broad range of data sources. It is surprisingly useful to query SQL Server, a Google Sh...
 

Also Known As

SPSS Statistics
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

LDB Group, RightShip, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Capgemini Consulting, TEAC Corporation, Ironside, nViso SA, Razorsight, Si.mobil, University Hospitals of Leicester, CROOZ Inc., GFS Fundraising Solutions, Nedbank Ltd., IDS-TILDA
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Find out what your peers are saying about IBM SPSS Statistics vs. Starburst Galaxy and other solutions. Updated: August 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.